Alpha strike (engineering)
Encyclopedia
An alpha strike is a term referring to the event when an alpha particle
enters a computer processor, and modifying the data contained in that processor. These can cause data corruption or system shutdown, and are becoming an increasing problem as transistor
sizes are reduced.
Alpha particle
Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium nucleus, which is classically produced in the process of alpha decay, but may be produced also in other ways and given the same name...
enters a computer processor, and modifying the data contained in that processor. These can cause data corruption or system shutdown, and are becoming an increasing problem as transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
sizes are reduced.